BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Revenue is taking legal action against three Louisiana business accused of evading taxes.

According to a release, these businesses failed to withhold the appropriate payroll taxes for their employee's earnings. One of the business is Antunez Painting in Baton Rouge. Other businesses include Elliott Services in Metairie and Extreme Cars & Trucks in Monroe. The LDR is suing the companies to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars in overdue taxes, penalties and interest.

"The evasion of withholding taxes is a serious crime that robs Louisiana taxpayers of revenues the state uses to provide vital services such as public safety, healthcare, education, and infrastructure," said Secretary of Revenue Kimberly Lewis Robinson.

LDR assessed the three companies through a new withholding audit program designed to recover withholding tax resulting from employee misclassification and unreported cash payments, according to the release. The audit program focuses on labor brokers and industries that typically employ independent contractors, including construction, personal services, and staffing companies.

For the tax years 2013 through 2015, the total tax, penalty, and interest owed by the three companies is more than $242,000. Antunez Painting owes just over $147,000 of that amount. The lawsuit against the three companies was filed in December.